Women With GRITT: M/I/A Group’s Mia Vicary On Holistic Success And The Power Of Believing In Your Vision
“It quickly became clear to me that if I was going to rely on other people's validation of my vision, I was never going to succeed. So, I focused on staying in my lane, on doing something I truly believed in and worked hard to build resilience through all the challenges.”
The modern-age digital native should straddle creativity and strategy. It’s a nuance that founder and director of the M/I/A Group, Mia Vicary, identified early in her multifaceted career. And the rationale behind why her side-hustle start-up became an established and well-trusted communications agency in only a few years time.
As a then 24-year-old, Vicary was determined to capitalise on the value of traditional PR practices and modern marketing—a blend empowered by her innate belief and sound vision. A vision that turned social currency into the driving force behind her (as she now defines it): “holistic success”.
Originally launched as Media In Action in 2019, the agency has since rebranded, making way for four distinct divisions. The original Media In Action, Marketing In Action, Management In Action and Moments In Action. All of which are not mutually exclusive. If one thing is true, Vicary could be described as a dynamic risk-taker.
Here, Mia Vicary takes us through the importance of checking where your validation lies, the power of believing in your vision and redefining success.
Hi Mia! Before we chat about all things business, we’d love to learn a little more about you. Where did you grow up and where do you think you inherited your drive and passion from?
I grew up in the gorgeous coastal town of Terrigal on the Central Coast. My siblings and I grew up on 25 acres but we were also very close to the beach—you could say we had the world at our feet! I remember running a muck in our backyard and being very adventurous!
My parents were small business owners, so I witnessed the highs and lows it takes to build something you’re passionate about and more importantly, the drive and determination it takes to build something sustainable.
I believe it was instilled in me at a young age that if you want something you must go out there and work for it. I always knew that passion, drive, playing fair and treating others the way you want to be treated is really the perfect recipe for success in business, and is something I try really hard to follow every day.
So, you were previously working in the media and communications before launching MIA (Media In Action)—how did you break into this competitive industry?
Growing up I was convinced I would be a television journalist. It all looked very exciting and something I was working hard towards. After working in newsrooms in Jakarta and Sydney I knew it wasn’t the right role for me. I found the news exceptionally negative and I wanted to spend my days inspired.
Soon after I took a marketing role in New York City and found myself gravitating towards digital marketing. After returning to Sydney and working for a small PR firm, I could really see the gap in the market between both areas of my experience—traditional media and digital marketing. I found a lot of traditional media agencies knew nothing about numbers and how to monetise mass audiences whereas the digital agencies weren’t so great at storytelling and communicating with mass audiences. That’s where M/I/A Group was born.
I was convinced that in today’s age, one area really doesn’t work without the other anymore. I witnessed businesses spending so much money on different areas of marketing but their strategies never being as cut through because they didn’t have all the appropriate services in place to set the business up for success. I really wanted to create a marketing model that clients could pick and choose services and personalise packages to their businesses that would allow their marketing to take their businesses to the next level.
Launching a business in the PR or digital space is by far one of the most competitive industries, let alone in a city where you were competing with brands that had a lot of money behind them. I knew I had a tough road ahead if I wanted to establish a business but I was so convinced I could help businesses and really believed in myself that I went for it.
You’ve recently re-branded to the M/I/A Group. Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the re-brand?
M/I/A Group’s service is now composed of four departments: Media In Action, Marketing In Action, Management In Action and Moments In Action.
Media In Action, which was first launched in 2019, creates social currency by developing and delivering customised communications strategies for clients across industries. With a focus on digital marketing, services under Marketing In Action include Google marketing (SEO, Google Adwords, Google shopping), website development and design, optimisation strategies, social media advertising, CRMs, EDMs and content marketing.
Management in Action is all about identifying emerging influencers and partnering them with like-minded brands to offer some of the most mutually-beneficial collaborations. This department represents the most prolific macro-and micro-influencers in Australia. Talents include Dr Cody (2.9 million followers on TikTok), Acha Septriasa (3.3 million followers on Instagram), Lexy Stevens (300K+) Knafeh Bakery (100K+), to name a few.
Moments In Action is in charge of curating, styling and executing brand activations and unforgettable events like weddings and proposals.
I introduced Management In Action and Moments In Action as I felt the services that fall within these divisions were equally as important as the other two divisions and highly necessary in our clients overall strategies.
Not only have you re-branded but your team has expanded since launching. What do you believe are the three most important personality traits of someone who will be an asset as an employee?
I am very blessed to have such a special team. It has taken a while to navigate what traits my business needs in an employee—as I offer so many different services. Looking back on my experiences, I would definitely say that they need to believe in the business, be passionate and hard working. If they’re a niche specialist, for instance a Graphic Designer or Paid Media Specialist, they genuinely need to be qualified in the field and speak up when things don’t work.
What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received? And how did you incorporate it into your life?
“The best day starts the night before”. Good sleep and mental health is absolutely everything. I discovered this when I experienced severe burn out (a few times!) and knew that if I wasn’t taking care of myself I was setting myself up to fail. Now, I make it my mission to prioritise self-love and my mental health and that includes a good night’s sleep. I have to say: beauty sleep is always in!
Switching it up! What role does beauty play in your life? Is it a creative outlet? A daily ritual?
I love beauty! Taking care of myself is something I always take pride in and it genuinely makes me feel better about myself. I treat beauty as a part of my daily routine with my skin prep morning and evening, frequent LED treatments, blowdrys, you name it. I love it!
Lastly, we have to ask! If you could only pick five beauty products to use for the rest of your life, what would they be?
M.A.C Velvet Teddy lipstick, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Spray, Synergie Skin’s ReClaim and Super Serum and Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara.
Amy Hunter Studio/Sydney Hair & Makeup Co
Fast forward a few years. It didn’t take you long to establish a line-up of some amazing clients, including Synergie Skin and the Crown Group. What has been the hardest thing about your business journey to date?
There have certainly been some very difficult moments on my business journey to date. In addition to the challenges of trying to validate my unique selling point to a market that was not initially receptive to the power of digital and social marketing (especially influencer relations). It was hard to stand out among already established brands—a difficulty that was magnified by the fact that I was a young woman without any existing connections of my own.
It quickly became clear to me that if I was going to rely on other people’s validation of my vision I was never going to succeed. So, I focused on staying in my lane, doing something I truly believed in and worked hard to build my resilience through the challenges. It took time and a lot of hard work, and the journey is definitely not over, but I can see my progress in the way that brands are now very receptive to the power of the work I do and value what we offer.
How do you define success today as opposed to when you first embarked on this venture?
I’m not going to lie, the glitz and glamour of the PR industry was what drew me to it. I wanted a big team, a fancy office and to go to fun parties! But it quickly became clear that you always need to serve your style with substance!
As I’m sure is the case with most startups, my initial definitions of success centred around acquiring as many clients as possible, without necessarily taking the time to actually determine whether I really even wanted them to work with me or how they would benefit my long-term vision for the business. Success really was based on profitability and a very materialistic way of thinking.
Today, I understand success more holistically and I choose only to work with brands that I can see a mutual long-term relationship with. Brands that I believe really resonate with me and people who respect the skills that I bring to the table and who trust me to help them succeed. I want to be inspired every day and genuinely make a difference and make my team and those I love proud.
I also look at success as being genuinely happy no matter what you do. For me, being able to navigate my way through creating a healthy work-life balance has brought me a lot of happiness, and I am truly so grateful that I have created a life that allows me to do just that.
Hi Mia! Before we chat about all things business, we’d love to learn a little more about you. Where did you grow up and where do you think you inherited your drive and passion from?
I grew up in the gorgeous coastal town of Terrigal on the Central Coast. My siblings and I grew up on 25 acres but we were also very close to the beach—you could say we had the world at our feet! I remember running a muck in our backyard and being very adventurous!
My parents were small business owners, so I witnessed the highs and lows it takes to build something you’re passionate about and more importantly, the drive and determination it takes to build something sustainable.
I believe it was instilled in me at a young age that if you want something you must go out there and work for it. I always knew that passion, drive, playing fair and treating others the way you want to be treated is really the perfect recipe for success in business, and is something I try really hard to follow every day.
So, you were previously working in the media and communications before launching MIA (Media In Action)—how did you break into this competitive industry?
Growing up I was convinced I would be a television journalist. It all looked very exciting and something I was working hard towards. After working in newsrooms in Jakarta and Sydney I knew it wasn’t the right role for me. I found the news exceptionally negative and I wanted to spend my days inspired.
Soon after I took a marketing role in New York City and found myself gravitating towards digital marketing. After returning to Sydney and working for a small PR firm, I could really see the gap in the market between both areas of my experience—traditional media and digital marketing. I found a lot of traditional media agencies knew nothing about numbers and how to monetise mass audiences whereas the digital agencies weren’t so great at storytelling and communicating with mass audiences. That’s where M/I/A Group was born.
I was convinced that in today’s age, one area really doesn’t work without the other anymore. I witnessed businesses spending so much money on different areas of marketing but their strategies never being as cut through because they didn’t have all the appropriate services in place to set the business up for success. I really wanted to create a marketing model that clients could pick and choose services and personalise packages to their businesses that would allow their marketing to take their businesses to the next level.
Launching a business in the PR or digital space is by far one of the most competitive industries, let alone in a city where you were competing with brands that had a lot of money behind them. I knew I had a tough road ahead if I wanted to establish a business but I was so convinced I could help businesses and really believed in myself that I went for it.
You’ve recently re-branded to the M/I/A Group. Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the re-brand?
M/I/A Group’s service is now composed of four departments: Media In Action, Marketing In Action, Management In Action and Moments In Action.
Media In Action, which was first launched in 2019, creates social currency by developing and delivering customised communications strategies for clients across industries. With a focus on digital marketing, services under Marketing In Action include Google marketing (SEO, Google Adwords, Google shopping), website development and design, optimisation strategies, social media advertising, CRMs, EDMs and content marketing.
Management in Action is all about identifying emerging influencers and partnering them with like-minded brands to offer some of the most mutually-beneficial collaborations. This department represents the most prolific macro-and micro-influencers in Australia. Talents include Dr Cody (2.9 million followers on TikTok), Acha Septriasa (3.3 million followers on Instagram), Lexy Stevens (300K+) Knafeh Bakery (100K+), to name a few.
Moments In Action is in charge of curating, styling and executing brand activations and unforgettable events like weddings and proposals.
I introduced Management In Action and Moments In Action as I felt the services that fall within these divisions were equally as important as the other two divisions and highly necessary in our clients overall strategies.
Not only have you re-branded but your team has expanded since launching. What do you believe are the three most important personality traits of someone who will be an asset as an employee?
I am very blessed to have such a special team. It has taken a while to navigate what traits my business needs in an employee—as I offer so many different services. Looking back on my experiences, I would definitely say that they need to believe in the business, be passionate and hard working. If they’re a niche specialist, for instance a Graphic Designer or Paid Media Specialist, they genuinely need to be qualified in the field and speak up when things don’t work.
What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received? And how did you incorporate it into your life?
“The best day starts the night before”. Good sleep and mental health is absolutely everything. I discovered this when I experienced severe burn out (a few times!) and knew that if I wasn’t taking care of myself I was setting myself up to fail. Now, I make it my mission to prioritise self-love and my mental health and that includes a good night’s sleep. I have to say: beauty sleep is always in!
Switching it up! What role does beauty play in your life? Is it a creative outlet? A daily ritual?
I love beauty! Taking care of myself is something I always take pride in and it genuinely makes me feel better about myself. I treat beauty as a part of my daily routine with my skin prep morning and evening, frequent LED treatments, blowdrys, you name it. I love it!
Lastly, we have to ask! If you could only pick five beauty products to use for the rest of your life, what would they be?
M.A.C Velvet Teddy lipstick, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Spray, Synergie Skin’s ReClaim and Super Serum and Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara.
Amy Hunter Studio/Sydney Hair & Makeup Co
Fast forward a few years. It didn’t take you long to establish a line-up of some amazing clients, including Synergie Skin and the Crown Group. What has been the hardest thing about your business journey to date?
There have certainly been some very difficult moments on my business journey to date. In addition to the challenges of trying to validate my unique selling point to a market that was not initially receptive to the power of digital and social marketing (especially influencer relations). It was hard to stand out among already established brands—a difficulty that was magnified by the fact that I was a young woman without any existing connections of my own.
It quickly became clear to me that if I was going to rely on other people’s validation of my vision I was never going to succeed. So, I focused on staying in my lane, doing something I truly believed in and worked hard to build my resilience through the challenges. It took time and a lot of hard work, and the journey is definitely not over, but I can see my progress in the way that brands are now very receptive to the power of the work I do and value what we offer.
How do you define success today as opposed to when you first embarked on this venture?
I’m not going to lie, the glitz and glamour of the PR industry was what drew me to it. I wanted a big team, a fancy office and to go to fun parties! But it quickly became clear that you always need to serve your style with substance!
As I’m sure is the case with most startups, my initial definitions of success centred around acquiring as many clients as possible, without necessarily taking the time to actually determine whether I really even wanted them to work with me or how they would benefit my long-term vision for the business. Success really was based on profitability and a very materialistic way of thinking.
Today, I understand success more holistically and I choose only to work with brands that I can see a mutual long-term relationship with. Brands that I believe really resonate with me and people who respect the skills that I bring to the table and who trust me to help them succeed. I want to be inspired every day and genuinely make a difference and make my team and those I love proud.
I also look at success as being genuinely happy no matter what you do. For me, being able to navigate my way through creating a healthy work-life balance has brought me a lot of happiness, and I am truly so grateful that I have created a life that allows me to do just that.
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